Thing

THINGS TO KNOW

Top 5 DSPs of 2021, Syntax Highlights Growth at Amazon, YouTube

January 10, 2022

Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, streaming, digital music, Syntax Creative - imageIf you’re tuned in to your favorite artist’s social media feed, it’s likely that you’ll mostly see mentions of Spotify and Apple.

While Spotify and Apple are always extremely valued partners of ours, In 2021 we saw significant growth from Amazon and YouTube.

2021 Revenue Share:

  • Apple: 29%
  • Amazon: 20%
  • Spotify: 20%
  • YouTube: 16%
  • Pandora: 9%
  • All others (combined): 6%

For Syntax Creative, Amazon and Spotify are tied for the second-highest market share. This is significant since the publically published number of subscribers suggests that Spotify is around three times the market share of Amazon for the wider music industry, and has the number one position putting Apple in second place.

“While it’s known that Country and Christian skew higher at Amazon, it’s also likely that the ability to ‘set it and forget it’ with smart speakers playing deeper catalog such as lullabies for babies or classical music for ambiance has attributed to this increase,” commented Timothy Trudeau, CEO of Syntax Creative.

Like Apple, in 2021 Amazon expanded their HD Audio options to a much wider audience, claiming a 20x expansion from their original soft-launch in 2019.

Between the continued growth and the recent addition of a pitching tool to Amazon Music for Artists, we’re expecting to see more people begin to include Amazon in their release strategy.

Coming in at third place, YouTube is another often-forgotten but sincere contender. We’re hoping artists begin to incorporate them into their marketing efforts as well. While publicly published numbers suggest YouTube has around 8% of the market overall market, for us that number is doubled.

“Like Amazon, I would attribute the success of our catalog at YouTube to the passive listener,” said Trudeau. “People who know what song or a genre they like and let the algorithm serve them up fresh tunes like a personal assistant. This is in contrast with the average Spotify or Apple user who I believe is more of an active listener—curating their own experience.”

Things may be getting a little more crowded at the top. We’ll be watching throughout the year, and report back to you with how everyone fared.

SYNTAX CREATIVE

Syntax Creative is one of the top independent digital distributors, design firms, and marketing agencies, representing more than 150 record labels. Their impressive list of clientele includes Crossroads Label Group, Central South Distribution, Elevation Church, Pinecastle Records, Cross Movement Records, Darkchild Gospel, Rapzilla, Mountain Fever Records and illect recordings among others.